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Al Green |
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Monty Alexander |
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Jurassic 5 |
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Al Green’s “Love And Happiness” is one of those tunes that’s loved by all. Enjoy the original, and consider adding a couple of clever reinterpretations to your MP3 collection.
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Stevie Wonder |
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TLC |
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Scala & Kolacny Brothers |
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This time on Musical Cousins: three totally different songs with three totally different takes on the word “creep.”
First up, Stevie Wonder’s haunting “Creepin’,” featuring backup vocals from Minnie Riperton. In this song, creep refers to the stealth way a lover invades the dream world. The melody is typical Stevie perfection, but the moody, off-kilter synth floating underneath hints at something less rosy.
In TLC’s 1994 single, “Creep,” the Atlanta trio and producer Dallas Austin made a buoyant R&B/pop classic dedicated to cheating on the one you love.
The last take on the word “creep” comes from an early Radiohead composition where the creep in question is the song’s self-hating narrator. I prefer Scala & Kolacny Brothers’s cover, used to great effect in the trailer for The Social Network. Dozens of post-pubescent Belgian girls singing in unison truly is creepy.
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Nostalgia 77 (w/Alice Russell) |
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Tender Forever |
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B.Cause (w/The Whitefield Brothers & The Dazz Band) |
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I’m gonna switch things up on Musical Cousins. Usually, I do a modernish song that contains a sample from a slightly less modern song. Not this time. The tracks offered up in this post are all cover versions that sound as if they were released before the original. Allow me to demonstrate.
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Kid Cudi |
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Paul Simon |
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One of the benefits of sampling other artists’ songs is that I get to rediscover music that I haven’t heard in a while. Such is the case with this edition of Musical Cousins.
One of the many (too many) year-end “best of” lists I read was The 10 Best Mixtapes of 2008 (all free, by the way). Most of them were not of interest to me, but I checked out a couple. The freshest was from Kid Cudi, a Cleveland singer-rapper who, as a result of his mixtape, became a protege of Kanye West.
Cudi has a laid back flow and a respectable singing voice. But what really brought a smile to my face was a throwaway track, a semi-cover of Paul SImon’s “50 Ways To Leave Your Lover” which he reworked as “50 Ways To Make A Record.” Yeah, the new lyrics are insidery and on its own, this track won’t move the needle for Cudi’s burgeoning career, but hearing that militaristic drum line took me back instantly.
I probably hadn’t heard Paul Simon’s version for at least 20 years, so after listening to Cudi’s track I downloaded the original immediately. Wow, what a great song (a 5-star classic, fo’ sho’). The song shifts — both musically and lyrically — from the wistful realization of dissatisfaction in the narrator’s relationship to the buoyant catharsis of letting go and finding relief through freedom. Simon is that rare artist who is equally skilled as a songwriter, singer, and musician and this classic is a testament to his talents.
Thanks, Kid Cudi, for shepherding me back to this song after all these years.
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Summer In The City
Manteca
“Sanford & Son” Theme
Chump Change Album: You’ve Got It Bad Girl (1973) |
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To mark the one month anniversary of Ye Olde Blog, I’ve got a new feature that I hope you will enjoy: LP Classics, a tribute to the best records in my collection. The rules: each selection must have a few 4- and 5-star classics, and it can’t be a compilation or live album.
I’d be hard-pressed to come up with a more auspicious debut for this feature than the LP I selected: Quincy Jones’s You’ve Got It Bad Girl. Released in 1973, it’s rarely mentioned among Q’s triumphs, but I’ve played and enjoyed this record countless times. I found it at a San Francisco sidewalk sale for $2, a deal that still makes me smile some 15 years later.
As you can see from the tags I assigned to this post, Quincy showcases his eclectic tastes on this LP. A few tracks originate from movies or TV shows, others are creative interpretations of other artists’ songs, and the liner notes detail several legendary session players providing support throughout the album.